7 Biogenesis of Yeast Mitochondria

Abstract

I. INTRODUCTION
The question of how mitochondria are formed has fascinated biologists ever since Altmann (1890) first described these organelles 100 years ago. Initially, mitochondria were regarded as intracellular parasites. In the 1950s, when the resolving power of the electron microscope revealed the multitude of intracellular membranes in eukaryotes, mitochondria were frequently assumed to represent just another intracellular membrane system composed of unit membranes. In the early 1960s, the discovery of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) led some investigators to propose that mitochondria were self-replicating units. Today, we view mitochondria as bona fide organelles that are very much controlled by the nucleus yet have retained telltale earmarks of their endosymbiotic past.

The first meeting devoted specifically to mitochondrial biogenesis was held in 1967 (Slater et al. 1968). Since then, the field has grown explosively, aided to a large measure by the unique experimental possibilities offered by the mitochondrial system of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is now clear that the processes by which mitochondria are formed vary little between different eukaryotic cells; most of the differences found so far are not fundamental but variations on a common theme. Although in this article we emphasize mitochondrial biogenesis in S. cerevisiae, we consider results obtained in other systems as well. Historical details and additional information can be found in the various reviews cited throughout this chapter, as well as in several books (Slonimski 1953; Lehninger 1964; Roodyn and Wilkie 1968; Keilin 1970; Sager 1972; Gillham 1978; Ernster and Schatz 1981; Tzagoloff 1982). The lipid composition of...